Germany

Free digital training course for migrant women in Berlin

The FrauenComputerZentrumBerlin e.V.  is offering a free digital empowerment training program to improve the media competence of women migrants and refugees in the city. The course, which begins on 12 August, aims at improving the computer and language skills of the participants, who will learn how the Internet, computer and smartphone work and how they can use these technologies independently …

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Nnamdi Kanu ‘directs’ IPOB members in Germany to rename Nigerian association

Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has “directed” his supporters in the Nigerian Community Germany Football Club (NCG FC) Hamburg to change the name of the sporting association to IPOB FC Hamburg. “I am directing that Nigerian Community Germany Football Club Hamburg be renamed IPOB FC Hamburg,”  Kanu announced on his Facebook page on Thursday. …

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Germany’s interior ministry plans study on violence against police

A study on racial profiling in Germany’s police services was cancelled by Interior Minister Horst Seehofer two weeks ago. Instead, the Federal Ministry of the Interior is now making preparations for a study on violence against police officers. Critics accuse Seehofer of hypocrisy According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, it is making preparations for a study on violence …

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Afrozensus: Online survey on anti-Black racism in Germany launched

Racism in different forms and places is a common experience for the more than one million people of African descent in Germany. Black people are often subjected to police identity control more than other groups. Also, they experience discrimination in public offices, at the workplace, while accessing healthcare, looking for apartment, in schools, in the justice system, in their neighbourhoods …

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Dresdeners stand together against racism and police violence in Germany

Anna Swaboda, a member of power4africa e.V., reports on a demonstration against anti-Black racism in the eastern city of Dresden on Sunday. “The only thing that should be separated according to colour is laundry” was the message on a banner at the Black Lives Matter demonstration on Sunday afternoon in Dresden. Several hundreds of people gathered at Dresden’s Neumarkt square …

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First deportation flight from Germany since coronavirus pandemic outbreak

For the first time since the beginning of the corona pandemic, a group deportation flight took off from Frankfurt Airport on Tuesday (14 July). On board the plane to Islamabad in Pakistan were 19 Pakistani nationals who had been deported mainly from Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. This was confirmed by the federal police at Frankfurt Airport to the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. …

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North African countries agree to stop migrants from crossing Mediterranean

The police of North African countries to prevent refugees from crossing the Mediterranean to Europe. EU Interior Ministers and their North African counterparts have agreed. Amnesty sharply criticises agreement. Europe is also relying on African police to stop refugees crossing the Mediterranean. Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior announced in Berlin, the interior ministers of EU countries and North African …

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Special Report: Ghanaians in Germany – 1950s till today

Estimates of the number of Ghanaians living outside their homeland range from one to three million out of a general population of about 30 million. Ghanaians in Germany are reputed to form the second largest of the country’s diaspora populations in Europe, after the United Kingdom. Journalist, translator and community activist Sam Atsu Nove*, who first arrived in Germany in …

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MEP Herzberger-Fofana slams Seehofer for cancelling racial profiling study in Germany

Dr Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, member of the European Parliament, MEP, has criticised Germany’s Interior Minister, Horst Seehofer, for stopping the planned investigation into racial profiling in the country’s police services. In a press statement issued on Wednesday, Ms Herzberger-Fofana, who represents Germany on the platform of the Green party in the European parliament, said Seehofer by his decision “denies the existence …

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Germany: Criticisms trail cancellation of study into racial profiling in policing

The decision of the Federal Minister of the Interior, Horst Seehofer, to call off an investigation into racial profiling in the police is drawing anger and criticisms not only of migrant associations but also political parties, including the junior governing coalition partner SPD. Following the Black Lives Matter protests in Germany, questions are being raised about racism in the country’s …

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Zentralrat rebrands, launches new logo and website

The Zentralrat der afrikanischen Gemeinde in Deutschland (Central Council of the African Community in Germany or ZAGD) has relaunched its website and introduced a new logo on Tuesday. The move by the organisation, an umbrella body for African associations in Germany, is part of its efforts to increase its visibility in the country. The relaunch ceremony, held by video conference …

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Berlin changes name of train station derogatory of Black people

After years of agitation by Black activists and their German supporters, a Berlin underground train station will be renamed. According to the management of the Berlin public transport authorities (BVG), the “U-Bahnhof Mohrenstrasse”, the station on Line U2 of the city’s metro network, will be changed to “U-Bahnhof Glinkastraße”. The decision, announced on Friday, came as Black Lives Matter protests …

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New laws and regulations in Germany from July 2020

Residents of Germany can expect numerous changes again in July 2020. Several of these are related to the ongoing corona crisis, such as the reduction in VAT or the end of tenancy protection or the easing of travel ban on non-essential travel into EU member countries. Pensioners, on the other hand, can look forward to a pension increase. The African …

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Activists launch campaign for renaming Berlin street for denigrating Black people

Black Lives Matter protests have led to the toppling of colonial and slavery monuments in the US and several European countries. In Germany, an online campaign has been launched calling for the renaming of a popular street in the country’s capital city. Mohrenstrasse, located in the central district of Berlin, is the focus of attention of activists who are questioning …

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Germany: TANG demands government action on anti-Black racism, issues position paper

It’s time to demand concrete actions against anti-Black racism, Dr Sylvie Nantcha, chairman of The African Network of Germany (TANG), has said. She made the call on Thursday while speaking at the virtual conference of the organisation on the ongoing anti-racism debate in the country. “While we condemn racism in America, particularly the murder of George Floyd, we have to …

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Remain alert, Corona is still there! TANG charges Africans in Germany

Dr Sylvie Nantcha, chairman of The African Network of Germany (TANG), has called on members of the Black community in Germany not to lower their guard in respect of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). She issued the advice on Thursday while speaking at a virtual conference attended by the regional representatives of the organisation from all parts of Germany. “The virus …

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Neo-Nazi murder of Alberto Adriano remembered, 20 years on

Dessau is notorious for two brutal deaths of Africans in separate incidents — one of which occurred in police custody and remains unresolved. Even today, few of the city’s white residents see racism as a daily problem. Ben Knight reports In the last 20 years, the eastern German city, where fewer than 4,000 of the 80,000 inhabitants are non-German, has …

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Germany: How Covid-19 causes African students untold hardship

Yemi Babalola, a Media and Communication student of Technische Universität Ilmenau, reports on the situation of African students in Germany as a result of the new coronavirus pandemic. News about the new coronavirus started getting prominence in the earlier part of the year, but March saw a lot of countries begin to enforce lockdown measures. Germany enforced the lockdown in …

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Greens call for ‘race’ to be removed from German constitution

As tens of thousands in Germany flock to anti-racism protests, two prominent Green politicians have called for the term “race” to be removed from German discrimination law. “We need to unlearn racism,” they said. Elliot Douglas reports The term “race” should be removed from the German constitution, two leading Green politicians said Monday (8 June). In recent weeks, Germany has …

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